Moline man facing predatory sexual assault charges extradited back to Illinois

Sean McDonnell is facing four counts of predatory sexual assault of a child and one count of criminal sexual assault of a child. In September, McDonnell was listed as a missing man under suspicious circumstances through Moline Police. Then, he was located in Saipan, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean near Guam.

But it's what led up to the capture and extradition of McDonnell that has surprised Moline Police, Sheriff Bustos, and the Rock Island County State's Attorney.

The case started with Moline when they listed him as a missing man. They tracked financial and electronic trails first to Denver. From there, they tracked him to Phoenix, Arizona where, with the help of local police, his truck was located. While in Phoenix, he contacted his parents, mailing them the keys to his truck and money.

From Phoenix, he used his computer and email to purchase plane tickets to Saipan. Moline police say he likely chose the U.S. territory because it's the farthest he could get without a passport.

Once police knew McDonnell was in Saipan, the U.S. Marshall's office located him at a Saipan motel. Saipan police arrested McDonnell.

While in custody, it was up to the Rock Island Sheriff's Office and the Rock Island County State's Attorney to get McDonnell extradited back to Illinois. After McDonnell fought extradition, Rock Island County was able to obtain a Governor's Warrant, signed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and the Governor of Saipan. The Sheriff's office tried using an extradition company to bring McDonnell back, however, Saipan refused to release him into the company's custody.

"Saipan refused to turn Mr. McDonnell over to that person because they didn't feel it was safe and that company was prepared to transport him back," says Sheriff Gerry Bustos, Rock Island County.

Sheriff Bustos says sending armed sheriff's deputies to Saipan was not an option because they would have to travel through foreign countries which could cause issues with those governments.

Eventually, Saipan offered to transport McDonnell back to the U.S., but that came at a cost. Rock Island County paid around $14,500 for Saipan police to fly with McDonnell back into Illinois, going through Hawaii to Chicago. With the help of Chicago Police, Rock Island County Sheriff's Deputies transported McDonnell back to the county on December 28th.

The whole process took over three months.

Sheriff Bustos says the yearly budget for extraditions is $8,000. If convicted of the crimes, Bustos says he''ll seek restitution from McDonnell to pay the county back.

"Especially in a serious case such as this one, when you think that you've gone the farthest and you've spent the most, you'll come across a case that is very important to our community that we seek justice and we have to take that extra step to make sure that that process is able to go through."

The County says they went through the lengthy process because of the seriousness of the charges. Predatory sexual assault of a child is a Class X Felony, carrying a mandatory prison sentence if convicted.

McDonnell waived the preliminary hearing Tuesday, January 9th, and entered a not guilty plea. His next court appearance is set for February.

"Today he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. So there was no evidence that we had to present today showing probable cause. We did have an officer here from Moline ready to testify as it relates to probable cause but he waived that hearing, which is his right to do in his due process right to do," says John McGehee, Rock Island County State's Attorney.